


Worth fighting for

by Tashilover



Series: Claw and dagger [3]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Dubious Consent, M/M, Mild Gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-06
Updated: 2013-10-06
Packaged: 2017-12-22 14:09:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/914117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tashilover/pseuds/Tashilover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing is made to last.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Douglas was going to leave bruises on him in the morning.

Martin didn't mind, not really. Douglas was always so careful of where he placed his talons, of how he distributed his weight, going through great pains to not hurt Martin. But when he did leave bruises or cuts, it was then Martin knew Douglas was lost, so deep in his own pleasure the whole world around him blanked out.

As much as an ego boost it was, pushing this dragon to that point, Martin wished it didn't come with a price. Douglas pounded into him so harshly Martin's arms ached with effort to hold himself up.

Finally, Douglas started to give off signs he was close to orgasm. His hold on Martin tightened, his talons digging a little deeper into the skin of his shoulders. He started to make little growling noises, like whines of a hurt animal.

His talons suddenly clamped down hard, breaking skin, and Martin gritted his teeth to hold back the hiss of pain. Douglas was quiet for a long moment, his hips jaunting lightly. He then sighed, his grip relaxing.

Martin couldn't help but give off a little moan when the talons detached. "Oh, Martin," Douglas said tiredly. He started licking the wounds, his long wet tongue swiping across Martin's shoulders. "I  _told_  you to tell me to stop when my-"

"I'm fine," Martin said. "Can you get off? You're heavy."

Douglas grunted and pulled out. Martin moaned, shivering as the discharge ran down his thighs. "I'll summon the elves to clean the wounds," said Douglas.

"No, don't. Later." Martin didn't want little servants cleaning him so soon after he and Douglas were intimate. It felt... weird.

"Martin-"

"Later. Let... let the moment be, Douglas."

Douglas flopped down, his heavy weight shaking the bed. He laid on his back. Though his back scales always punctured the bed, every morning as he got up, there was no damage.

Martin snuggled up close, feeling warm and so very sore. He reached out to caress Douglas' side and his hand was caught by a sharp scale. "Ow, fuck," he hissed, pulling back. There was a long bleeding scratch across his palm.

"What happened?" Douglas asked, turning to head to him.

"Nothing," Martin said, cradling his hand away from sight. "I think I'll go take a bath."

 

 

 

 

Martin has been kissed before. There were moments in his youth where he sneaked away with Linda, his sister's maid-in-waiting, and he would allow her to push him up against the wall and let her do whatever she wanted to him.

He would never let it go too far. He knew had to keep himself chaste for his future spouse.

Martin loved Douglas. He wasn't sure if he was in love with the Douglas, but he cared greatly for the dragon. And it was a bit terrible that Martin could not express much of that affection back.

He could not kiss Douglas. Dragons have no lips.

He could not hold Douglas close. Dragons were too boney and scaly for human flesh to handle.

While the sex was nice, Martin felt like something was missing, an intimacy that didn't involve Martin on all fours. And looking back on the times he spent with Linda, Martin realized what it was. He missed human touch.

Amazing how sex could not compare to a hug or a kiss. How strange those little touches could mean so much to him.

Martin lowered himself into the hot spring. He hissed as the water lapped over his wounds, washing away the dried blood and Douglas' saliva.

As painful as the water was on his wounds, it did wonders on his sore muscles. The kinks in his back slowly melted away and as the soreness turned into a dull ache, he groaned.

The familiar sound of heavy footsteps echoed behind him and at first he ignored them. Martin wanted some time to himself, to let his body be his own. But he felt a snout bump against his back. While it was an ego boost knowing the dragon wanted him so much, Martin was too sore for another go.

He moved forward, away from the snout. A large tongue followed him, dipping under the water to slither between his cheeks and up his back. Martin cried out when the tongue touched his senstisized hole. "I can't- it's been too soon, I can't-"

The tongue touched him again, pressing against his hole as if trying to push in. The tongue was too big, the angle too awkward. "Douglas-!"

Martin moved to get Douglas off, but suddenly the snout surged forward, forcing Martin to the end of the hot spring. Martin slammed his hands against the edge to keep from crashing his genitals against the wall. Water splashed over, dousing some of the surrounding candles.

The tongue snaked away from Martin's hole and went in between his legs and started rubbing obcenely against his perineum and testicles. "Oh God," Martin moaned. Douglas kept his snout still, pinning Martin there, refusing to let him move.

Martin didn't know what to do. Douglas has never done anything like this before. Should he protest? Did he even have the  _right_?

The constant stimulation was having an affect and slowly, Martin felt himself get hard. Realizing Douglas was not going to stop, Martin closed his eyes and did his best to keep his knees from collapsing from underneath him.

It took an insane amount of time for Douglas to bring Martin to orgasm. Perhpas it was still much too soon for such an activity or the warm water had an affect. Either way, the snout finally removed itself from Martin's back and Martin nearly collasped, catching himself by his elbows on the edge.

Breathing hard, he pulled himself out of the water, wanting desperately of cool air on his skin. He was going to overheat and pass out, he knew it. Weary, he turned to face Douglas, hoping this was it, that dragon wasn't going to want more than this.

It  _wasn't_  Douglas.

Martin was too tired to scramble back but he made a half-hearted attempt. It definitely was a dragon who stared back, looking smug and rubbing his tongue over his teeth. "I can see why Douglas likes you," he said, smacking. "You taste... interesting."

Martin didn't have his robes, he didn't have his towel, he had nothing to cover himself up. "W-who are you?"

"Has Douglas not talk about me?" The dragon said in an unsurprised voice. "I am Aloysius," he said, giving a short bow of his head. "I am Douglas' younger brother."

 _Brother_. Douglas had mentioned once or twice about siblings but never gone into any greater detail than saying he had them. Martin remembered Carolyn's words, how dragons hated the company of each other. If that was true, then why was Aloysius was here? "Why the  _hell_  are you here?"

"Ohhh, fiesty! I like you! Well, I'm here because my older brother had not told me he got married again. And I thought to myself: I should meet my brother-in-law, shouldn't I?"

"We met. Now get the fuck out of here."

"Martin, don't be like that, not after the time we just spent with each other."

A sick, dirty feeling had Martin's stomach clenching. He wanted to take another bath, he felt so unclean. "GUARDS!" He yelled out, getting to his feet. "GUARDS!"

Immediately the elves assembled. They came out of the walls, the floor, the ceiling, each one bearing a weapon of some sort. A few of them carried daggers or blunt instruments. One of them carried a whisk.

They didn't attack. Most of them actually lowered their weapons, dropping their guard and looked around the room in confusion. "Where is the threat?"

"Are you  _blind_?" Martin squealed. He pointed at Aloysius. "There! Right there!"

All of the elves looked at Aloysius, who shrugged and said nothing. The elves looked back at Martin and said, "But that's Master Douglas."

WHAT.

"That's the problem with blood spells," Aloysius interjected. He looked down at one elf, considered him for a moment, and suddenly slammed his claw down on top, crushing the elf like he was an ant. "If you share the blood, the spell doesn't work. Douglas should really have known better."

He raised his claw up, bone and blood dripped off. The other elves didn't react.

"Martin!"

Martin could hear Douglas approaching. His giant steps thundered down the hall, coming straight for the baths. Martin finally pushed himself to his feet, ignoring Aloysius appreciative looks thrown his way.

Douglas skidded around the corner, entering the baths. First he saw Aloysius, his mouth opened in confusion. But when he glanced down, saw the smushed elf, then his eyes traveled to Martin, wet and naked, he bared his teeth and snarled. " _What have you done to him?"_

Aloysius bared his teeth as well, his shoulder hunching as if to fight, but he was smiling. "What do you think, dear brother of mine? I  _married_  him."

Douglas' head jerked, as if struck. He glanced over to Martin, his mouth hanging in disbelief. "I didn't, Douglas!" Martin protested in confusion. What the hell was Aloysius talking about? "I agreed to nothing!"

"But what about our time together, Martin?" Aloysius cooed in a mock-hurt tone. "You sure looked like you were enjoying yourself."

"You forced me!" Martin spat, pointing at him angrily. He didn't care he was still nude, there was no way this bastard was going to twist this around. "Douglas, I thought he was you! If I had known-"

"Doesn't matter," Aloysius interuppted. "What's done is done, now you're mine, little human."

"What does that mean?" Martin demanded. He looked to Douglas, who was shaking with rage but doing  _nothing_. "Douglas, what does that  _mean_?"

When Douglas spoke, he was growling so much, Martin could barely understand what he was saying. "Dragon law states... marriage occurs through completion of consumation. Because Aloysius..." It took him a few tries to choke this out. "...had you  _consent_  to him, you are now his spouse."

That didn't make any sense. Who would make a law like that? "Our marriage was based on a contract between you and my father!"

"The contract," Aloysius said slyly. "Was between the  _Dragon of the West_  and your father. The name 'Douglas' was never mentioned. I too, am the Dragon of the West. So was our sister, but that's besides the point. In the eyes of the law between both our species, you are  _mine_."

"Fuck you," Martin hissed. He pushed himself off the wall, running around the hot spring, straight towards Douglas. If a goddamn orgasm was all it took for Martin to change spouses, then he was going to fuck Douglas right then and there.

Douglas bent low, moving to meet him halfway when Aloysius  _slammed_  his head right into Douglas' side, throwing him off his feet and well away from Martin. Aloysius then twisted, reached out and swept Martin into a massive claw, holding him out like a child keeping away a toy. He even had the audacity to say, "No touchy."

Martin couldn't struggle, wouldn't dare struggle. Aloysius' claws were sharp and huge and Martin feared any wrong movement would slice him into ribbons.

Douglas surged back onto his feet, his size rapidly expanding. He grew bigger and bigger, much bigger than Martin has ever seen him. He was like a monster, towering easily over Aloysius, dark blue wings spread wide in sheer aggression.

Aloysius' grip on Martin tightened. "Ah, ah, ah, brother! I still have little Martin here. Don't want to risk this fair skin, am I right?"

Douglas' glowing red eyes drifted to Martin, sitting fearfully in Aloysius' grip and immediately settled down. He didn't revert back to normal size, but he retracted his wings and backed away a bit, growling deeply.

Aloysius turned his attention to Martin. "Dear spouse," he said nastily. "What was it you were doing? Trying to divorce me? Aw, not happy with me? Don't worry, I'll treat you kindly."

His tongue ventured out, large and disgustingly wet, slathering over Martin's body.

" _Stop_ ," Douglas commanded. "What is it that you want?"

The tongue pulled back. "Want?"

"Stop playing around! Tell me what you want in exchange for Martin!"

"Release yourself."

Since Carolyn's visit, Martin began reading on dragon customs. There was so much history to go through and it was only through personal persistence Martin managed to read quite a number of books. His education must be still lacking because he has never heard such a term being used.

It obviously held some great significance. Douglas looked positively  _horrified_. "Aloysius, you can't..."

The claw tightened again and this time the sharp edges sliced through the skin on Martin's back and legs. He cried out.

"Stop!" Douglas said desperately. "Stop! I'll do it! I'll... I'll do it..."

Martin wanted to tell him to stop. Whatever Aloysius was tricking Douglas into, Martin wasn't worth it. He opened his mouth to say so and Aloysius jiggled his claw, his talons cutting more into Martin's skin, making him hiss.

Slowly, Douglas shrunk in size. He got smaller and smaller, hunching in on himself, limbs drawn close. His scales began falling off. This wasn't normal shedding; the scales fell by the dozens, scattering around him in little piles. His horns retracted into his body, his talons disappeared. The beautiful shade of blue and purple of his body dulled into a pale pinkish colour.

Hair grew on his head. Fingers uncurled. Until finally, all that was left was a kneeling, naked man.

Human man.

He stood, the last of the scales falling away. He stared down at his hands, confused and sad. Then, in a tired tone said, "Let him go."

Aloysius angled out his claw over a hot spring. He loosened his grip and Martin slid out, splashing into the water below. Martin quickly emerged, gasping for breath, scrambling to pull himself out.

Douglas tired to go to him. He took a step forward, his legs knocked into each other and he crashed to the floor. He tried again to get to his feet, his stance unsteady, like a toddler learning how to walk.

Aloysius  _laughed_.

Ignoring the bleeding cuts, Martin ran to Douglas' side, taking his arm to keep him upright. "Douglas!" He gasped. "What have you done?"

Douglas angled his face away. Unlike the scaley, purple-blue head Martin was used to, Douglas looked like a man in his fifties. He had a mop of grey hair, wrinkles and a strong protruding chin.

"Can you change back?" Martin asked. When Douglas didn't answer, he gently curled a hand around Douglas' cheek- his human fleshy cheek - to make him look at Martin. "Douglas? Can you-"

"Never," he said, the pain in his voice equally matched the sorrow in his eyes. "Never."


	2. Chapter 2

At least Aloysius allowed them to dress and gather a few belonging before kicking them out of their home. Martin thought about dressing in his finest, wanting to leave with a sense of pride and diginity.

But Aloysius was only going to give them one horse to use between them. With Douglas unable to walk properly and with miles of travel ahead, fancy clothes was not ideal. So Martin dressed in comfortable clothing, keeping his crown tucked away in a bag.

It was hard to find clothing that would fit Douglas. Even as a human being, he was still bigger than Martin. Martin managed to improvise with a sleeping gown, a belt and a large cloak. It wasn't perfect, he looked ridiculous but at least Douglas wasn't naked anymore.

"Goodbye, Douglas," Aloysius said smugly as they walked out of the cave mouth. It took Martin a few minutes to properly set Douglas on the horse without him falling off. After that, Martin climbed on. It felt weird being on a horse again. "It was nice seeing you."

Douglas pulled the hood of his cloak over his head.

"Goodbye, dear divorced husband," Aloysius said to Martin. "Do tell your father I am awaiting his army."

Martin resisted the urge to give a rude gesture. He kicked in his heels, spurring the horse to move and with one last dirty look, Martin turned down the path and left his home.

Martin rode in silence, in  _anger_. A part of him was still in disbelief all of this happened within a few mintues. The plan was so simple, so easy to execute, and yet neither of them saw this coming?

"Why are your protection spells made with blood?" Martin asked. He did his best to keep the accusing tone out of his voice. "Even I know a blood relative could pass through them-"

"I thought he was  _dead_ ," Douglas said. "I haven't seen him in over fifty years."

"You should have made sure."

"And then what? Kill him? Aloysius is a crafty bastard but he never had any interest in humans before. I had no idea he would do something like this."

"Now thanks to this ignorance, my father must prepare for war."

"I KNOW!" Douglas roared, guilt and self-hatred spilling out of him. Though his head was still covered by the hood, he turned his face away. "I know..."

Martin wanted to keep going, wanted to scream and yell at Douglas for how  _stupid_  it was to keep such a protection. How all of this could have been avoided if Douglas had been a little more wary of his kin.

There was no point. Nothing Martin could say or do make the situation better.

God, what was he going to tell his father? That if it wasn't for Martin,  _succumbing_  to Aloysius' advances, war would have been prevented? "Tell me more about the marriage law," he said.

"Dragon law," Douglas corrected. "Contracts are pointless. They're useless pieces of paper, capable of tearing and washing away, erasing all agreements from sight."

"You married  _me_  through a contract!"

"Because you are human and your kind demands it. We are dragons. We are eternal and forever and our laws are made through blood, flesh, skin, sweat, and semen. Scars last longer than ink."

"My so-called marriage to your brother..."

"It wouldn't have mattered if you said no, all he needed was a physical response."

Martin pulled on the reigns tightly, halting so suddenly the horse squealed. As Douglas' words slowly made its way into his head, his stomach began to seize and he felt sick. Very very  _sick_.

He quickly threw a leg over and practically shoved himself off the horse, stumbling to the nearest tree and vomiting everything in his stomach.

This whole time, Martin had wondered what would have happened if he said  _Stop. Don't. No_. It festered in his mind like worm, borrowing deep inside of a carcass. It wasn't relief he felt, when he learned nothing he said or did could have stopped it.

It didn't matter if he thought Aloysius was Douglas or not. He should have said something. Should have done something.

From behind, Martin heard a FWUMP. He turned to see Douglas sprawled on the ground, his foot caught in the stirrup of the sadle. It would have been hilarious if it wasn't so sad. Martin wiped the side of his mouth, moving to get up and help.

Douglas disloged his foot from the stirrup, pushed himself up on his elbows and said, "Do not think this was in any way your fault," he hissed. "I take responsibility, dont-"

Douglas shouldn't be human. So much emotion showed on his face, it was almost unnatural. Martin wasn't used to Douglas' small, pale blue eyes, his fat, flat trembling lips or his puffy red cheeks. Despite his age, he looked like a little boy and it made Martin want to wrap his arms around him and never let go.

"We're so pathetic," Martin nearly giggled. He got up and held out a hand. When Douglas looked on, like he didn't know what to do next, Martin bent down and helped him to his feet.

 

 

 

 

Martin stopped the horse at the crossroads.

To Douglas' confusion, he stepped off the horse. He stared quietly at the four intersecting paths, not bothering to give an explanation to his actions or thoughts. Last time he was here, he was being escorted to Douglas' cave.

Douglas slid off the horse, this time landing to his feet. "What are you doing?"

"Tradition," Martin said. "I guess as a dragon, this is not something you would do since you're always flying. This is a crossroads."

"Yes, Martin, I can see that."

"Let me finish. When you come to a crossroads, you should always pause before moving forward. Give yourself time to think, to consider your options, and ask yourself if the way you're going is the path you want."

Martin walked forward, stopping in the middle of the intersection. "I did this when I was coming to be your spouse.  _Should I keep going, give myself to a dragon? Or should I turn back, beg my father for another option? Or should I go left or right and let fate decide my future_?"

"So you ultimately chose me."

"I didn't," said Martin with a guilty shrug. "I let fate decide."

He closed his eyes. He began spinning in place, one arm stretched out, finger pointing.

"Martin, your ear-"

Dizziness swept over Martin, taking away his breath and inner balance. His knees buckled underneath him and he vaguely felt himself falling.

Douglas caught him before he hit the ground.

When Martin's vision finally cleared, he was glad to see his finger was still pointing. He worked through the nausea, trying to remember where this path went.

"Carolyn," he said, dropping his arm. To take that road, it was only a few hours from her lands. That wasn't a solution. Of course, what did Martin expect? To do this stupid little twirl and answers would just come to him? Idiot child.

"Carolyn..." Douglas murmured thoughtfully. "Carolyn..."

Martin sat up, pulling away from Douglas who was still looking down the road. "Douglas...?"

Douglas suddenly grinned. "I think I have a plan."


	3. Chapter 3

The very first thing that came out of Carolyn's mouth was, "Oh  _Douglas_."

Martin couldn't believe it. She knew. She fucking knew. How much had Douglas shared with her, but not with Martin? Not even  _he_  had heard the whole explanation of the transformation.

Martin had to turn his head away to hide the anger and hurt. Now was not the time for petty jealousy.

"Who did this to you?" Carolyn asked sadly, her hands cupping Douglas' face.

Off to the side, Martin could see her husband, Herc, nearly scowling.

"My brother," Douglas told her.

" _That_  fat bastard? I thought he was dead!"

"It doesn't matter now," Douglas said. He rubbed his cheek against her hands one last time and pulled away. "By nulling the union with Martin, he has declared war. It is why we're here. We need your army."

Their reactions were immediate. Carolyn's mouth dropped. She closed it quickly and looked to Herc. The jealousy drained form Herc's face, replaced with an equal amount of horror. "You want our army... to go up against a  _dragon_?"

"I used to be a dragon," Douglas said. "I know their weaknesses, I know-"

"So does Carolyn. And from what she told me, Douglas, it wasn't much. I'm sorry, I wish I could help-"

"Herc..." Carolyn pleaded.

"No, Carolyn, you know as well as I this cause is too high of a risk. I'm sorry, Douglas, but I can't. To fight against a human army is one thing, but to fight against a dragon..."

There was an old, infamous tale of Alicia, the great Dragon of the far North, who had fought against an army of eight hundred men. They said after she devoured twenty men, she lit the rest of the army on fire, then proceeded to raze the kingdom until there was nothing more than a soldering pile of ashes. If it was true or not, dragons were not to be taken lightly.

Martin stepped forward. "Then will you fight for the reward?"

"Reward?"

"Saltpeter."

Herc cocked his head in confusion.

"Last year my father found a gigantic cave in the kingdom. It is huge, your majesties. It's the size of a city. And collected on the walls is saltpeter. But it's other name, as I'm sure you're well familiar with, is potassium nitrate."

Now  _that_  didn't need explanation. Saltpeter was a common name used among the workers, because they didn't understand what it was, why their king was making them collect it. Herc and Carolyn knew. If you added potassium nitrate, sulphur and carbon together, you got  _gun powder._

Martin could see in Herc's eyes, the realization of what could happen if he got his hands on an endless supply of gun powder. They were so wide, Martin swore he could see the  _future_  in them.

"That's where I come in," Douglas continued. "Martin's father came to me when he realized if word got out, every single army in a hundred mile radius would be knocking on his door, wanting his lands. In exchange for my protection, he give would me as much saltpeter as I wanted or needed. My marriage to Martin finalized that agreement."

"Please," Martin said, stepping forward. The thought of his father, his former kingdom, forced to endure the onslaught of Aloysius was too much to bear. They were all going to die if they didn't get help. "Rally your army. With my father giving you saltpeter, we may have a chance against Aloysius."

Carolyn and Herc looked to each other, considering. When Herc turned his head back, Martin feared he was going to turn them away.

"We shall think about it."

 

 

 

 

They were given rooms, new clothes and food. They were small luxuries Martin was grateful for. After days of traveling, helping Douglas learn the mechanics of his new body, Martin was exhausted. He was glad to be able to take some time for himself, even if it was just for an hour.

Douglas was not on the same idea. The moment he got into their room, he ignored the new clothes, ripped off his cloak, slipped off the night gown and stood in the middle of the room, enjoying his nakedness. "Ugh... the feel of that cloth against my skin... it's like a constant itch," he said, rubbing his arms. "I don't know how you humans do it. I'd rather be nude."

"Then I hope you enjoy hypothermia," Martin snapped at him.

Douglas frowned. A few moments ago Martin was practically sighing in contentment when he got fresh, clean clothes. "Why are you suddenly so upset?"

"I kept my silence, Douglas. I saw how much it upsetted you, now that you're human. I know you did it for me. But I don't understand is why did you keep this from me. Did you not trust me with this information? Did you think I would blackmail you with this?"

"I kept it from everyone!"

"Not Carolyn!  _She_  knew!"

"Oh GOD," Douglas sneered, raising his head towards the heavens as if asking for strength. "You're doing this now? Jealousy does not suit you, Martin."

Martin was not jealous. At least, not as much as Douglas was suggesting. Martin felt betrayed. Even after a year of marriage, Douglas kept information from him. Martin didn't know about Aloysius, he didn't know about the blood spells, and now this. Was he not good enough to know? "Then why does Carolyn know about this and I don't?"

"BECAUSE I OFFERED HER CHILDREN!"

Douglas bellowed out his answer. If he was still dragon, his voice would have shatered windows and filled the room with smoke. Instead, his voice  _cracked_  in mid-sentence, and he sounded like a broken man. His shoulders dropped and turned his head away in shame.

Martin gaped. "Children," he breathed. "You offered to become human... to be a father?"

"Interspecies cannot procreate," Douglas bit out. "And when Carolyn expressed her need for children, I told her I could give her one."

"And did you know what she said to me?" He said bitterly. "She said  _no_. She never gave me a reason why, in all these years. I couldn't give her children, so I gave her a divorce instead. I did that because I love her, Martin. I became human  _for you_  because I love you." He rubbed his hands across his face, wiping away the angry tears. "God, fuck, have I not been obvious? Have I not shown you in all the ways I could?"

Martin stepped forward and threw his arms around Douglas' shoulders, pulling him close. Douglas was uncertain with his arms and slowly he raised them to hug Martin back, burying his face into the crook of Martin's neck. "Is that why you didn't tell me?" Martin asked. "Because you thought I would say no?"

"In the beginning, with my first spouses... it was to protect myself. If people knew dragons could change into humans and be unable to change back, armies would endlessly be knocking on my door." He squeezed Martin tighter. "But I was getting tired of watching them die. It wasn't fair they would leave me behind. You are still so young, Martin. In a few years you too would want children. With a human, with someone your own age. I did not wish to tie you down."

Martin was nine when he realized he would be the one his parents will send off as marriage bribery. For the next ten years he would be told, over and over, his body was not his own. He was not allowed to have sex. He was not allowed to talk back. He had to learn to endure because he knew his future marriage could be a life of misery and there was nothing he could do about that.

And here Martin stood, with his arms around a man who gave up immortality for him. Even with war and death knocking at his door, Martin knew he wouldn't want to be anywhere else. "I love you, Douglas," he whispered. "Thank you for wanting to spend the rest of your life with me."

A sudden knock on the door broke them apart. Douglas stepped away, turning his head to hide his sniffling. Martin was suddenly overcome with an urge to kiss him.

Instead, he stooped down, picked up a piece of discarded clothing and hovered it over Douglas' crotch. "Here," he said, holding it out. Douglas took it. "Don't frighten the servants."

Martin opened the door just enough to peer out. He stepped aside, bowing lightly as Herc and Carolyn walked in. Upon seeing them, Douglas immediately dropped the cloth, placed his hands on his hips and displayed himself for all the world to see.

Carolyn looked on appreciatively while Herc scowled.

"We've come to a decision," Herc said. He took a second to steady himself. With a determined tone, he said, "We're going to war."


	4. Chapter 4

Martin has never sent so many carrier pigeons in his life. He was not only communicating with his father, but with his brother and sister too, asking for their help. If they all agree to come together, that was five thousand men strong. With Herc's army, that was another three thousand.

Douglas was sending out his own pigeons, asking in for favors from past allies. He had to ask Martin to write them for him because he didn't know how. "Usually I just fly over and ask," Douglas said, grimacing at the sight of pen and parchment. On his first try at holding a quill, his elbow knocked over the ink well and it shattered on the ground.

Douglas regained enough control of his body to keep himself from walking into walls and using the latrine without help, but there was still so much to teach him if he was going to help lead an army. He needed to learn to ride a horse, use a sword and shield, and he needed to get used to the feel of armour sitting heavily on his shoulders. So no more stripping off his clothes just because he felt like it.

Douglas didn't like it, but he was too busy to give it much thought. When he wasn't training for battle, he debating strategies with Herc and Carolyn. "How much potassium nitrate does Aloysius have in his possession?"

Douglas told them and Martin wrote down the estimated amount. "But that's the only ingredient I possessed in the caves. I don't keep carbon or sulphur around, not unless I want to accidentally blow myself up."

"That must've been a shock to Aloysius," Carolyn said, grinning. "He evicted you out of your caves, expecting to find an endless supply of gun powder, only to find he has but a third of the ingredients."

"I only sell the potassium nitrate," said Douglas, shaking his head. "The ones I sell it to have to provide their own key ingredients. This way I avoid making myself look like I'm perpetuating war."

"Except now Aloysius has access to all your treasure," said Martin, and he jotted down the amount of gold in Douglas' caves. He grimaced at the high number. "He could just  _buy_  carbon and sulphur."

Both Martin and Herc were startled when Carolyn and Douglas started laughing.

"Dear, do you remember what I said about dragons and treasure?" Carolyn said, wiping away a few tears of mirth. "Getting a dragon to give up treasure is like pulling teeth. If Aloysius really is  _buying_  his supplies, he's doing it in small amounts. Truth be told, our best bet is he has buried himself under a pile of gold and forgotten himself."

"Unlikely," Douglas said. "His greed hasn't been sated yet. But Carolyn is right, though. Either Aloysius is going to find another source he could bully into giving him ingredients, or he still thinks I have them somewhere deep within the caves. It'll give us time."

"Right..." Martin said. He crossed out the gold amount. Instead, he started calculating the amount of carbon and sulphur Aloysius was going to require, the time it was going to take him to accurately turn all of that into gun powder safely, where he was going to store it...

A random thought suddenly popped into his head. "Wait, where's Arthur? I haven't seen him since I've been here."

The silent pause was deafening.

"We sent him away," said Herc stiffly. "To an undisclosed sanctuary."

"What? Why?"

"Because we're going to war and he's our only heir," he said sharply, giving no room for argument. "I will not risk his death."

The question on Martin's lips was, Does Arthur know? Was he sent away under the delusion it was for holiday or training or study? How long would it take for word to come to him that his parents were fighting a war and he was not allowed to be in it?

How long would it take for him to learn his parents were killed and now he was now king,  _and_  the next target of a very angry dragon?

Martin had been so busy trying to organize a war, he didn't have time to look upon his own mortality. Slowly, very slowly, he was coming the realization not only could he be killed, but Douglas, his father, mother, sister, brother, and his little nieces and nephews. He had no doubt in his mind should Aloysius win, he would eradicate every relative Martin ever had simply on principle.

They continued their talks after a minute, debating how many cannons they should commission. From underneath the table, Martin reached out and grasped Douglas' hand, intertwining their fingers together.

 

 

 

 

"Keep your arm up!"

Douglas looked like all he wanted to do was throw down the sword and sulk. Martin couldn't blame him. They've been at this for nearly an hour now and Douglas still hadn't been able to block Martin's blow.

Douglas raised the sword again, his arm trembling from sheer effort. He took a stance, and with a single swing, Martin knocked the sword out of his hand again.

At this point, Martin would have pointed the sword at Douglas' throat, asking him to step down, but the fun and games of training long since evaporated and now all that was left was frustration from all parties. "Maybe we should take a break," Martin said, taking a step back and dropping his stance.

He turned around to place away the swords, giving Douglas a moment of privacy so he could rub his aching arm.

Martin took off the practice helmet, the gauntlets and the padding. He grimaced when he pulled away the padding to reveal his tunic was  _dripping_  with sweat. That decision made, he stripped off the tunic, sighing at the cool air hitting his skin.

He bent over to take off the shin guards when he noticed Douglas staring at him. "What?"

"Nothing," Douglas said, turning his head away.

Martin didn't believe him and continued to take off the shin guards. Once those were off, he straightened back up, cracked his back and noticed Douglas staring again. "What? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," he said again. This time Martin didn't buy it. He strode across the training room, coming right up to Douglas who was purposely ignoring him. "Why are you-?"

Without prompt or reason, Martin glanced down.

"O-oh... Douglas..." Martin said. A little grin grew on his lips. "Is  _that_  what you've been thinking about this whole time?"

Douglas turned his body away to hide his erection from Martin. He was blushing so hard. "I need to train," he said. "I know this isn't appropriate at the moment-"

Martin suddenly grabbed his head and kissed him. Douglas made a shocked, strangled noise against Martin's lips.

" _Appropriate_?" Martin gasped, pulling away just enough to breath. "I've been thinking about this for  _days_. God, you have no idea..."

Martin surged forward again, capturing Douglas' lips, kissing him again and again and again. In the back of Martin's mind, he knew this was technically Douglas' first kiss and maybe, Martin should slow down.

Martin couldn't. After being denied this for so long, after so many years, he never wanted to stop. He pressed forward, rubbing himself against Douglas' crotch, elicitating a moan from him.

"Christ," Douglas gasped, moving away to breath. Martin merely followed his lips, trying to recapture them. "Your mouth. Your  _mouth_."

Douglas was a terrible kisser. He kept his mouth opened too wide too often, didn't know how to position his nose and, ironically, refused the use of his tongue. He also didn't know what to do with his hands. He kept gripping Martin's arms, squeezing almost painfully each time Martin did something he liked.

"I want..." Martin breathed against Douglas' lips. "I want to suck you off."

"Suck me... what?"

To emphaize his point, Martin reached down and palmed Douglas' erection, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I want this in my mouth."

Martin only tried once giving Douglas head and it turned out to be a terrible, embarrassing experience for everyone involved. A dragon's penis was positioned so awkwardly, Martin could barely get it in his mouth. Martin couldn't even use his hand because it felt like he was  _milking_  Douglas rather than pleasuring him. Though Martin was comfortable having sex with Douglas, that damnable bestiality comment always stuck to the back of Martin's head, acting as the pea in the mattress.

But Douglas was human now and  _God_ , Martin wanted to give Douglas the same experience Douglas always gave him.

Martin sunk to his knees, tugging Douglas' trousers down, releasing his cock. Douglas gripped Martin's shoulder, halting him for a moment and said, "You don't have to do this. You-"

"I've been  _trained_  to do this," Martin said, leaning forward. Which was the truth. He was instructed by the monks, who gave him diagrams and toys to practice on, so Martin would never be disappointing in bed. "I know what I'm doing."

He started with a long, slow lick up Douglas' cock, tasting him. He did it again and again, stopping only before he hit the sensitive spot underneath the head. He looked up at Douglas, who was staring down at him with his eyes blown wide. Martin grinned, suckled the sensitive spot for only a brief second before taking Douglas' cock into his mouth.

"Martin... Martin... I... oh- OH! Fuck, that's... oh... is this what it feels like when I lick you? Christ, you got the better deal. Ohhh..."

Douglas held out for an impressive time. Martin would have given any amount of money betting Douglas shooting off within seconds, but it looked like his endurance was one of the thing that transferred over to his human side. Martin didn't mind, he  _wanted_  this. He had no idea how badly he wanted this.

At some point Douglas stopped talking, and resorted to staring at Martin like he's never seen him before in his life. Douglas' eyes were half-drawn, drugged, while sweat poured down his face. "Christ, you're beautiful. Oh- OH!"

And with that, Martin felt him come inside of his mouth. Martin swallowed rapidly as he was taught, fighting against the urge to gag and spit. He pulled back finally, releasing Douglas' cock from his lips. He wiped his mouth with his arm.

Douglas looked like he just found religion. He tugged Martin back up, cupping his face lovingly and breathlessly, "Kiss me again. I really like doing that with you."

And Martin did.

 

 

 

 

It was a beautiful day.

Martin looked up to the sky, silently mourning the loss. Never would he again touch that endless blue, marveling the strength of Douglas' wings beating up and down, and simply feeling  _free_. What he experienced with Douglas was something he was never going to forget.

"Do you miss it?" Martin asked. "Flying, I mean."

"I try not to think about it," said Douglas. He shifted his shoulder, still uncomfortable with the amount of armour he had on. Martin was uncomfortable too, he had forgotten the feel of the weight of metal, but he hid the discomfort easily. "I just wished it hadn't come on so suddenly. If I had given myself time to get used to the idea... but this day was coming. Let's leave it at that."

There were so many questions left unanswered, so many answers that needed further explanation. But Douglas was right, now was not the time for that. Martin wanted to reach over and take Douglas' hand in his, but it was probably not a good idea to show such affection in front of eight thousand troops.

Instead, Douglas took his. After a moment, Martin pulled away, ducking his head to hide his grin.

Up ahead, Herc pulled out his sword. Immediately Martin and Douglas put on their helmets, pushing down the visor and pulled out their own swords. Their actions had a ripple effect as every soldier behind them mimicked the move. Swords out, spears at the ready, arrows notched.

**_"CHARGE!"_ **


End file.
